Mike's Mailbag: Will Michael Carter-Williams start for Syracuse?

Dennis Nett / The Post-StandardUniversity at Albany guard Gerardo Suero passes the ball with Syracuse's Michael Carter-Williams defending in the first half their game at the Carrier Dome.

Do you think that Michael Carter-Williams will start any games this year?

— Jeff

I think Carter-Williams is an incredibly talented player. At 6-foot-5, with his ball-handling and passing skills, his NBA potential is obvious.

However, Carter-Williams is just a freshman and starting ahead of him at the point is fifth-year senior Scoop Jardine. At the two-guard spot, there’s Brandon Triche and Dion Waiters.

Unless there’s an injury, I don’t see Carter-Williams starting this season, but I definitely think he’ll contribute to the Orange throughout the year.

Please tell us who had the greatest wing span in the past and currently.

— Tom from Binghamton

The player with the longest wing-span in Syracuse history is Sean Williams, who was at SU in 2007-08 and 2008-09. Williams had a wing-span of 7 feet, 9 inches, which at the time would have been the longest in the NBA.

This year Rakeem Christmas measures at 7 feet, 5 inches, while Fab Melo and Baye Keita both measure 7 feet, 2 inches from fingertip to fingertip.

Can Trevor Cooney or SU reverse the decision to redshirt during this season if there are injuries to other guards? If coaches find that his learning curve is much faster than a typical freshman, can they reverse the decision because he’s playing great in practice six to eight weeks from now?

— Dennis M.

Yes, a player who has decided to redshirt can reverse that decision at any point during the season. The most likely reason would be injuries to other players. However, that decision would burn a year of eligibility for less than a full season of games so it would have to be weighed carefully.

A player does not become ineligible just because he takes a voluntary redshirt. That’s why you’ll notice that Cooney remains in uniform for games. He’s also able to travel with the team.

When Wes Johnson had to sit out a year after transferring from Iowa State to Syracuse, he could not dress for games and could not travel with the team to road games because he was ineligible according to NCAA rules.

While a player can seek a medical redshirt as long as he has not played more than the NCAA limit, a player seeking a regular redshirt can’t play in any games. Once you play in a game, you give up the ability to redshirt.